One of the first things VA will look for in your disability claim is whether it is well grounded. So, what’s that? A well grounded claim is a plausible claim with three basic elements you must prove in order to get your foot in the door. Make no mistake about it, you are still a long way away from service connection when you well ground your claim; but fail the VA well grounded test and you are out before the contest hardly begins. In fact, many VA denials are because the claims are not well grounded. On to the three elements.

          First, you must produce medical evidence of a present disabling problem - physical, mental or a combination of the two. Some doctor, VA or private, has to say in writing that you have a problem now. Your statements count for zilch here. It has to be evidence from a medical professional usually in the form of an examination or treatment report. When I say you must “produce” it, either give VA a copy or tell them where it is and they can get it. It’s better to give them a copy and keep a copy for yourself. It is a very good practice to keep copies of absolutely everything you send to VA as files and documents do get lost. Better safe than sorry. Okay, step one towards well grounding is a done deal with your submission of medical evidence of your current disability.

          Secondly, you must show that you had a problem while in active military service - you suffered an injury, disease, exposure to Agent Orange or radiation or toxic chemicals, a verifiable stressor and a few others. Or, a condition you had before service was aggravated while in service. The easiest way to prove an inservice problem is through service medical records (SMRs). These are records that VA will automatically attempt to compile when you file your claim. If they haven’t been lost or burned up in the St. Louis records center fire or otherwise misplaced, and, if they were created in the first place, your SMRs may well show that you had “service incurrence” or “aggravation inservice”, the terms for the military problem which led to your current disability. More later about this “led to” business.

          For now, your chore is demonstrating to VA that something bad happened to you while in uniform. And it is a real chore absent those SMRs because generally VA is not going to take your word for it. They want it in the SMRs or other records. There is an exception for combat veterans, however. Congress realized that under combat conditions records could not be and were not always kept so they carved out a law which basically requires VA to take a combat vet’s word for service incurrence. Unfortunately, there is a whole lot of rigmarole which muddies up what is combat and how you prove combat and some other issues, but that will have to be another column or three. For now, let’s assume you’ve shown by hook or crook that there was a problem inservice so you’ve accomplished step two of your well grounded claim. With a current disability (step one) and service incurrence (step two) safely in hand, let’s move to the part which prevents most claimants from establishing their claim as well grounded -- linking one and two together or the infamous nexus dilemma.

          Thirdly, comes nexus between the inservice problem and the current one. You have to prove a medical link or nexus or relationship between the bad thing which happened inservice and the present disability. No problem, right? Any dummy can understand that the broken ankle inservice led to the weak, deformed and painful ankle which today makes it hard to do a full day’s work, right? Wrong! VA requires medical evidence which positively links the two. Some doctor has to state in writing that based on her examination of your ankle it is probable that today’s medical problem is related to that injury you sustained many years ago. Physicians, as a group, are not known to be prone to speculation. They like hard, scientific evidence. So, nexus has become the stumbling block for countless veterans trying to well ground their claims. Are there ways to attack the nexus problem? Yep. That’s what my next column is all about. Talk to you then.

Clark Evans
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